The West and Central African Research and Education Network (WACREN) and AfriGEO have launched the WACREN Climate Leadership, Innovation, Mentorship & Bridging (CLIMB) at the 10th AfriGEO Symposium in Abuja.

WACREN CLIMB, initiated under the AfricaConnect project (funded by the European Commission), will link doctoral researchers in climate, agriculture, and health across the WACREN region to the data and computing infrastructure being built there, as well as to international platforms where their work can gain visibility and secure follow-on funding.

Closing the gap between researchers and infrastructure

Doctoral researchers across West and Central Africa, many of whom lack a structured way to connect across borders, access regional data and computing resources, and reach platforms such as GEO, AfriGEO, and the UN Climate Change Conference. WACREN CLIMB builds on regional infrastructure developed by WACREN and its member national research and education networks: WMO-compliant weather stations linked by LoRaWAN IoT gateways, a data portal for EUMETSAT satellite data, and federated high-performance computing.

“Africa has the talent. WACREN CLIMB is about ensuring that the next generation of
researchers also has the infrastructure, data, computing power and mentorship to turn that talent into impact. By connecting doctoral researchers to these resources and to each other, we want to accelerate the journey from research to practical solutions for climate resilience across Africa. We are grateful to the European Commission for supporting this investment in Africa’s research capacity through AfricaConnect4.” – Omo Oaiya, Chief Strategy Officer, WACREN

“Africa’s greatest resource is not beneath our soil but within our people. Through years of
postgraduate supervision, I have seen that African talent is world class. WCREN CLIMB gives young scientists the data, computing power and global platforms to prove it. Advancing AU Agenda 2063, the global agenda beyond 2030 and GEO’s Earth Intelligence for All, these fellows will not only answer Africa’s climate questions; they will lead the world toward lasting, homegrown solutions.” – Prof. Amos Kabo-Bah, Co-Chair, GEO Programme Board
What the WACREN CLIMB will deliver

The WACREN CLIMB will recruit 60 doctoral fellows from WACREN member institutions, 20 each in Climate, Agriculture and Health, anchored by WASCAL’s doctoral cohorts. It has four components:

1. Doctoral fellows network: shared access to WACREN data and computingandacross-border peer community.

2. Joint research: with GEO, AfriGEO and WASCAL, turning climate dataintopredictive models and decision-support tools for agriculture, water, energyandhealth.

3. International visibility: WACREN-hosted side events, starting at COP31 inAntalyain November 2026.

4. Climate champions programme: at least 20 fellows and alumni recognisedasregional ambassadors for climate data.

CLIMB is governed by WACREN, working in close collaboration with GEO, AfriGEO and WASCAL, with fellows and champions given a voice in its running. It aligns with GEO’s investment in early-career Earth observation practitioners and AfriGEO’s Implementation Plan to 2036. The call for members opens this quarter for doctoral researchers in climate, agriculture or health within WACREN’s member countries, and for WASCAL alums.

Apply here: https://indico.wacren.net/event/288/

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